


Prove It

by Tea_For_One_Please



Series: Seblos - the spring show [2]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, teenagers being dumbasses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:13:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22513036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_For_One_Please/pseuds/Tea_For_One_Please
Summary: “You know what your problem is?” EJ snaps. “You think up all these routines, and that’s fine! Except you don’t understand what it’s like to have to perform them while singing and dancing, because you’re too much of a coward to actually get up onstage and do it with us.”“Excuse me?” Carlos asks, his tone a touch higher than usual. “I am not a coward.”“Prove it.”“Oh, give over, EJ,” Ashlyn calls. “He didn’t deserve that.”“Whatever,” he mutters. “Let’s get on with the scene.”“No,” Carlos says loudly, staring him down. “Go on. Prove it, how?”
Relationships: Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Series: Seblos - the spring show [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620790
Comments: 13
Kudos: 60





	Prove It

It starts with an argument. Seb observes with interest as Carlos and EJ exchange increasingly heated remarks, grinning at Nini as she and Ricky sit down quietly next to him.

“What did we miss?” she whispers.

“EJ can’t get the choreography down, but insists that he’s not doing it wrong.” Not taking his eyes off the action, he tilts his popcorn in their direction. Nini laughs and shakes her head, but Ricky dips his hand into the bag.

“You brought popcorn?” he says, tossing a piece into the air and catching it in his mouth. “That’s so cliché.”

“Pure coincidence,” Seb admits. “Happened to have it in my bag, and figured I’d eat it until my scene.”

“I still can’t believe Miss Jenn chose _Cats_ ,” Nini says gloomily.

“What are you talking about?” Seb says, looking incredulously at her. “It’s iconic!”

“Bit of a downgrade from _High School Musical_ , though,” Ricky says with his mouth full. Seb hums an affirmative, his attention back on Carlos and EJ, who seem to be reaching a head.

“EJ, I will go through it one more time with you,” Carlos says crossly, “but you’re holding up the scene for everyone else. This is your song! You’re supposed to have learned it!”

“You don’t need to ‘go through it with me’,” EJ says, making air quotes. “I _have_ learned it.”

“Clearly,” Carlos mutters, his eyebrows twitching in disbelief.

“You know what your problem is?” EJ snaps. “You think up all these routines, and that’s fine! Except you don’t understand what it’s like to have to perform them while singing and dancing, because you’re too much of a coward to actually get up onstage and do it with us.” Seb inhales sharply at this, and Nini’s mouth drops open slightly. Ricky lets out a low whistle, while the other cast members pointedly avoid eye contact.

“Excuse me?” Carlos asks, his tone a touch higher than usual. EJ looks momentarily uncomfortable, but then his face hardens as Carlos speaks again. “I am not a coward.”

“Prove it.”

“Oh, give over, EJ,” Ashlyn calls down from the rostrum upstage-right. “He didn’t deserve that.”

“Whatever,” he mutters. “Let’s get on with the scene.”

“No,” Carlos says loudly, staring him down. “Go on. Prove it, how?” Seb closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger; this can’t end well.

“Stonebridge House,” EJ says.

“The boarded-up house on Mill Avenue?” Carlos asks in disbelief. “What about it?”

“Go and steal something from it,” EJ shrugs. “And take a picture, to prove you went.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be haunted?” Big Red pipes up, who’s been watching the proceedings from his light desk somewhere behind Seb.

“Good lord,” Seb mutters.

“Sure,” says Carlos. “I’ll do it. Can we finish this number now?” The cast murmurs in agreement and Carlos turns to look at the three spectators with murder in his eyes. Seb feels a momentary surge of alarm, before he realises he’s looking at Ricky. “You planning on joining us, Ricky?”

Ricky looks blank. “I’m in this?”

Seb is growing mildly concerned that Carlos is going to burst a blood vessel. “You sing the verse,” he says through gritted teeth. “And you’re in the tap break.”

Ricky pales. “I’ve never done tap before.”

“Well, you’re going to now, or so help me _God_ I’ll persuade Miss Jenn to cut your song.” Ricky hastily scrambles to his feet and joins the others onstage. Nini rolls her eyes fondly and leans her head on Seb’s shoulder, who’s biting the inside of his cheeks in an effort not to laugh.

At the end of the rehearsal, Seb waits for Carlos to finish writing his notes, perching on the edge of the stage and swinging his legs. He watches as Carlos scribbles in his notebook, brow furrowed.

“You okay?” he asks tentatively. “I know it was kind of a stressful afternoon.”

“God, you have no idea,” Carlos murmurs, not looking up from his notes. “EJ is so…” He exhales deeply. “You know, after his stunt during _High School Musical_ I thought he’d changed, but he’s still such a jerk.”

“He felt bad about what he said,” Seb says with a slight shrug. “I could tell.”

“You’re defending him?” Carlos says in disbelief, putting his pen down and closing the book. “Traitor.”

“I’m not defending him,” Seb sighs, rolling his eyes as he jumps down. “What he said was unkind, unhelpful, and most importantly, untrue.” Carlos sniffs and pushes his glasses up his nose. “And you know you don’t _actually_ have to go to Stonebridge House, right?” Carlos gives a non-committal hum. “Carlos,” Seb says warningly.

“It’s not hard,” Carlos shrugs.

“You’re not serious?”

“Seb, what’s the big deal?” Carlos shoves his notebook into his bag and swings it onto his back. “There’s like, no security. I go in, get a spoon or something, I leave.” Seb still doesn’t look convinced. “Besides, it’s not like it’s actually haunted,” he jokes. Seb scowls, and Carlos sighs. “Look,” he says, slowing to a stop and leaning against the wall. “If I don’t do this, EJ will never respect me again. You see that, right?”

“If you get caught and get a criminal record, _I_ will never respect you again.” Carlos cracks a smile at this.

“It’s all good. You’ll never know I was there.”

“Except I will,” Seb counters. “Because I’m coming with you.”

“You most certainly aren’t.”

“Try and stop me.”

Seb’s already waiting at the end of Mill Avenue when he sees Carlos approaching. He opens his mouth in reproach, but Seb places a finger on his lips to silence him.

“Call it date night,” he jokes.

“Fine,” Carlos sighs, taking Seb’s hand and leading him behind the house. “There – the gap in the fence.” Seb crawls underneath, then helps Carlos to his feet once he’s followed him through.

“Now what?”

“Explain to me again why you insisted on coming with me?”

“Even if this place isn’t haunted,” Seb says, “it might not be safe. I thought it would be stupid to come by yourself.”

Carlos smiles. “That’s sweet.”

They wander across the yard toward the house, the almost-full moon casting an eerie blue light over the decrepit building. They sidle up to a window and peer in; all they can see is dusty old furniture and black mould besmirching the ceiling where the rain has come in. Stemming from somewhere below the floorboards, ivy creeps up the wall toward the damp patch.

“Come on,” Carlos hisses, pulling Seb through the door, which creaks loudly as he pushes it open. Seb cringes at the noise, glancing back outside to see if anyone noticed, but everything is still and quiet. Carlos beckons into the room, and Seb hastily follows.

“Okay, grab whatever it is you’re taking,” Seb says, “and let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”

“I want to look around. Find something that’s clearly from here.”

“No one’s going to think you just brought something from your own house!”

Not heeding the urgency in Seb’s voice, Carlos smiles at him and slips his hand into Seb’s again, interlocking their fingers. “I got this.” Seb hums doubtfully but allows Carlos to lead him through the house, looking for his prize.

They pass from the hallway into the kitchen, and Carlos starts rifling through the counter drawers. Seb looks around with distaste, eyeing up the windows, which are practically opaque from the spiderwebs covering them. The vaguely fungal wallpaper is peeling, and a snapped light flex has left a glass lampshade smashed on the tile floor. Seb has a vague reflection that the _Queer Eye_ guys would have a field day in this house.

“Uh, Carlos?” Seb tries not to look at the dead mouse in the corner of the room as he addresses his distracted boyfriend. “What exactly are you looking for?”

“I’m not sure yet,” he says, crouching down onto the balls of his feet and peering into a low cupboard. “I’ll know it when I see it. Can you go see what’s in the pantry?”

“Are you serious?”

“No, I just want you out of the way.” Carlos looks at him over his glasses. “Of course I’m serious, there could be something cool in there.”

“For God’s sake,” Seb sighs, and turns away towards the door in the corner of the kitchen. “This wasn’t even a dare, Carlos! You’re taking this far too seriously!”

“I’m not explaining this to you again,” Carlos almost snaps. “Just go, will you?” Seb rolls his eyes, frustrated, but he goes, not wanting to make Carlos any more irritable than he already is. He opens the pantry door and his eyes widen, startled.

“Honey, I’m pretty sure this is a basement.”

“Even better!” Carlos calls back, as something smashes some distance away. “Go take a look!”

“Nothing I’d like more,” Seb says under his breath. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and flicks on the flashlight. The light reflects a pair of bright eyes at the foot of the stairs. “Oh, hell, no,” Seb mutters, slamming the door. “Carlos, we have to leave!”

“Oh, let me just check upstairs?”

“Fine, but be quick, will you?” Carlos sprints up the stairs as Seb anxiously eyes the basement door. A loud _bang_ startles him and he lets out a yell – whatever he saw is now pounding against the door. Panicking, he seizes one of the dining chairs and shoves it firmly under the handle. Another crash, but thankfully the chair is holding. “Carlos!” he shouts up the stairs.

“Coming!” Seb hears Carlos’ hurried footsteps from above him, followed by the sound of wood breaking violently, a shout, and the shattering of glass. Wide-eyed in panic, Seb whirls around to see Carlos on the floor under the staircase, face clenched in pain and clutching his ankle with one hand, and a cracked handheld mirror in the other.

“Shit,” Seb gasps. “Holy shit.” He steps gingerly around the glass and wood fragments and stoops down to Carlos’ level. “Are you okay?” Shaking, Carlos nods.

“I think… I twisted… my ankle… or something,” he says between shallow breaths.

“Come on,” Seb says, as the animal throws itself against the door again.

“What the hell is that?”

“Why we have to leave,” Seb says, helping Carlos to his feet. Carlos throws one arm over his shoulder, and Seb holds his waist as he limps beside him. “Do you really have to take the damn mirror?”

“Yes,” Carlos says through gritted teeth. Seb gives an imperceptible shake of his head and wisely moves on.

“What exactly happened?”

“Guess the stairs weren’t as strong as they looked.” Seb stumbles as they walk, and Carlos lands painfully on his injured ankle. “Fuck, that hurt.”

Seb grimaces. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Carlos adjusts his grasp on Seb’s shoulder and groans. “What are we going to tell my parents?”

“Well, what did you tell them you were doing tonight?”

“I told them I was staying the night at your house.”

Seb gives an uneasy laugh. “Then we’d better think of something clever, because I told mine I was at yours.”

“Okay…” Carlos says hesitantly, trying to formulate a credible lie. “We were at your barn, and I fell off a ladder. You drove me back.”

“Brilliant. Except we don’t have a car, and if your parents talk to mine we’re screwed.”

“Well, do you have a better idea?” Carlos asks, exasperated. “Seb, we have to stop, I can’t walk all the way home.” Seb obligingly lowers him onto the sidewalk and flops down beside him.

“How about this?” he says slowly. “There was a change of plans, and we went over to Ricky’s. You fell down the stairs, and we tried to walk back, but couldn’t make it all the way.”

“And what, we call them now and ask them to pick us up?”

“I guess,” Seb shrugs. “That’s believable, right?”

“Sure,” Carlos says with a nod. “It’s partly true, and none of them knows Ricky’s dad well enough to fact-check it.”

“Nailed it,” Seb says, raising his hand. Carlos high-fives him and passes him his phone. “Call my parents, it’ll be better coming from you.”

“You know we’re not actually faking the injury, right?” Seb asks, amused, as he finds Carlos’ mom’s contact. Carlos shoves him playfully but doesn’t reply. “Hey, Mrs Rodriguez?” There’s a pause. “Yeah, it’s Seb.” He listens again. “Well, there’s been a bit of an, uh, incident. Can you come pick us up?”

There’s a mixed murmur of intrigue, concern and amusement as Carlos limps into the new auditorium on one crutch on Monday morning. Carlos fails to hold back a smile. “Miss Jenn, may I say something before we begin?”

“The floor’s yours, honey,” she says, clearly interested, despite her otherwise unreadable expression. Seb’s perched on the stage, hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

“First off, the choreographer can’t dance for a while. It’s ironic, and it’s funny. You can laugh.” A chuckle passes around the group. “It’s not sprained, thankfully, so it’ll heal in a week or so, and this brings me to my second announcement. In the meantime, the wonderful Sebastian has very kindly learnt the routines I was going to teach you this week, so he can demonstrate while I instruct.” The class applauds appreciatively as he gestures to Seb, who smiles modestly.

“Carlos, we need to get on,” Miss Jenn says, glancing at the clock.

“Oh, I’m almost done,” Carlos reassures her. “Third.” He swivels his gaze towards EJ, who has the grace to look abashed. “Mr Caswell, I have something for you.” Swinging his backpack off his free shoulder, he pulls out the mirror, now devoid of glass. The class start to laugh, realising what it is and where it’s from. Miss Jenn looks entirely nonplussed, and EJ cracks a smile. “I didn’t get a picture, but I did get an injury.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“If you ever think about calling me a coward again,” Carlos says seriously, “look at this mirror and imagine me hitting you with my crutch.” EJ actually laughs at that.

“That’s fair,” EJ says graciously. “I’m sorry for what I said. It was a dick move.”

“Apology accepted,” Carlos says with a grin. “Okay, Miss Jenn! I’m done.”

“Lovely,” she says briskly. “I have no idea what just happened, and frankly, that’s probably a good thing.” She stands and clasps her hands together. “We’ll start by running the Old Gumbie Cat scene you did last week, then we’ll sing through the prologue to make sure everyone’s sure of their solos. To your places!” Seb jumps down off the stage to make way for the performers, and joins Carlos in the second row of seats.

“I think another apology is in order,” Carlos says quietly once he’s settled and the other students are in place on the stage. Seb’s about to protest, thinking Carlos wants him to apologise for something, when he goes on. “I’m sorry I was so desperate to prove myself to EJ,” he says, absentmindedly taking his hand. “And for dragging you into it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Seb says incredulously. “Can you imagine if you’d been by yourself when you fell?”

“True,” Carlos admits. “Well, either way, I’m thankful for you.” Seb has a sudden flashback.

“You remember opening night of _High School Musical_?”

“Who could forget?” Carlos laughs, and Seb grins.

“You told me to count my blessings,” he says. “Ugh, this is going to sound so lame.”

“No, go on,” Carlos says, his voice suddenly soft.

“I could only think of one.” He can feel himself blushing, but he’s trying to not care. “And that was you.”

“Oh, stop it,” Carlos says, teasing, but Seb knows he’s pleased. He squeezes Seb’s hand and leans over to kiss him on the cheek. “You know, if I had to risk my life this weekend, I’m glad it was with you.”

“I’m pretty sure the point was that you didn’t _have to_ ,” Seb laughs. “But yes, when you put it that way, I’m glad too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! If so, please leave a comment, telling me what you liked, or your favourite lines, or whatever, and / or hit me up on Tumblr (@tea-for-one-please)!


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